Joe Benjamin by Joshua Heston Pen and ink artist, Joe Benjamin, is not only extraordinarily talented, but also one of the nicest of folks you’ll ever hope to meet. Five of Joe Benjamin’s 17 Silver Dollar City craftsmanship awards. Photo credit: J. Heston He and his wife, Janice, moved to Branson from the Quincy, Illinois,…
PLATE 1. “For the first one, we wanted to keep it pretty simple. All roads lead to Raleigh. We chose the banjo, the rolling hills, the iconic skyline from the PNC Building to the Convention Center’s Shimmer Wall, and we went with a horizontal format to allow for the typography.” — Tim Lee The Weird, Wonderful…
Mural in Silver Dollar City BY JOSHUA HESTON On the west wall of the unpretentious visitors’ exit of Silver Dollar City, a beautiful Kieffer mural celebrating the Ozarks in autumn can be found. Equally unpretentious in style, this work of George Kieffer is passed by tens of thousands of guests, often without a second thought.…
PLATE 1. “The painting Around the Bend is the westward view of the Finley River from the Highway 160 Bridge. I was inspired to create this painting by the contrast of the warm afternoon sun on the water and the deep, cool shadows of the enormous trees. The kayakers were added for a color center…
Country Rain by Betsey Mae Graves with art by Mary Arneson If you grew up in the west like I did If your daddy farmed the land like mine did Then you love the rain You love the rain Hear that sound, smell the air My momma said As the thunder rolls without a care…
PLATE 1. Crazy Debbie’s Discount Fireworks take over an old building near Mount Branson on East 76. Summer Firework Art by Joshua Heston An oscillating fan turned, moving humid air from one aisle to another, cement floor smooth and a little dewy in the hot summer night. The glowing Black Cat sign competed with a…
PLATE 1. Harlan Bonar in his Knob Noster studio. A Journey of Freedom: The Art of Harlan Bonar BY JOSHUA HESTON The rolling, grass-covered hills west of Sedalia, Missouri, mark a transitional territory where the tall grass prairies converge with the northwestern Ozark Hills. The place is pastoral, but it is here — in an…
PLATE 1. The Centaur Escapes. The Centaur Escapes displays an enraged centaur, half-man and half-horse — muscular back arched, fists clenched — against a troubled sky. From whom is he escaping? What cause is there of this angst? O’Neill, wisely, leaves that answer to the viewer — or, perhaps more personally, simply kept the answer…
PLATE 1. Winding roads among the rocks and cedars lead to the Bonniebrook Estate five miles north of present-day Branson, Missouri. The Roads to Bonniebrook by Joshua Heston On an early morning in January, 1947, the little Ozark cove and cedar break with a tiny stream leading down to Bear Creek was bleak and barren.…
Turkey Creek Art by T. Adkins The Meeting by T. Adkins Lawlessness prevailed after the Civil War with no legal protection for the settlers of the area. This need for law and order brought the citizens together to form a vigilante group to drive the criminal element from the area. This group of law-abiding men…